Sparks head coach Derek Fisher has plenty of bad memories against the Connecticut Sun. In all, including Los Angeles’ 77-60 road loss Saturday night, the Sun have outscored Fisher’s Sparks by 108 points and won nine of their 13 matchups during his coaching tenure, playoffs included.

The Sun eliminated the Sparks from each of their last two postseason appearances, including a three-game sweep in the 2019 WNBA semifinals that Fisher’s team lost by a combined 57 points. In Game 2 of the series, the Sparks suffered their third-worst postseason loss in franchise history, 94-68. Particularly vexing for fans and analysts was Fisher’s decision to play his star, Candace Parker, just 11 minutes in Game 3. In Games 2 and 3, Parker averaged 3.5 points per game.

In 2020, the 10-12 Sun stunned the 15-7 Sparks, eliminating them from the playoffs with a 73-59 victory in a winner-take-all second-round game that Nneka Ogwumike missed with a concussion. Last season, the Sun swept the Sparks in their three-game regular-season series, including 18-point and 15-point victories.

One game into the 2022 season series between these teams, and Fisher’s nightmares against Connecticut have continued.

The Sun jumped out to a 12-0 lead Saturday night and ended the half on a 21-6 run, leading 49-25 at halftime. In the first half, Connecticut out-rebounded Los Angeles 27-9, and Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas combined for 32 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. Nneka Ogwumike and Liz Cambage, meanwhile, tallied a mere eight points and four rebounds combined in the half.

The Sparks responded with a strong third quarter, outscoring the Sun 19-8, including 8-0 runs to start and end the frame, and trailing 57-44 heading into the fourth quarter. The closest the Sparks came to the Sun in the second half, however, was nine points after Jordin Canada’s 10-footer made the score 67-58 with 4:18 remaining in the game. After Canada’s runner, the Sun finished the game on a 10-2 run to win 77-60.

Connecticut out-rebounded L.A. 45-21 overall Saturday night and held a 19-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

“Ideally, they’re going to get a good shot later in the (shot) clock,” Fisher said of Connecticut’s offensive strategy after the game. “And then they just really beat you up on the offensive glass, and that becomes their most effective offense other than in transition.”

Breezy with the steal on one end, and the finish on the other. UNREAL. #CTSun pic.twitter.com/gj7AjG0obT

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) May 14, 2022

Canada continued to be a bright spot for the Sparks, tying the team lead with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field. The UCLA product and two-time WNBA champion, who signed with the Sparks in free agency after four seasons in Seattle, leads L.A. with 15.5 points per game through the first four contests.

“We like her being aggressive,” Fisher said of Canada prior to Saturday’s game. “We want her to stay with her foot on the gas.”

Alyssa Thomas paced Connecticut with 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Jonquel Jones contributed 16 points, 12 boards, two steals and a block.

The Sparks play their home opener at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday night after beginning the season on a four-game road trip. Entering the season with a star-laden roster and high expectations, the Sparks are back to .500 after beginning the year 2-0.

“Eleven days straight since the season started and we haven’t seen our own beds,” Sparks forward Chiney Ogwumike said.” So, we’re looking forward to that opportunity to just get the natural energy (of playing at home).”

Joshua Fischman is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering Angel City FC and the Los Angeles Sparks. He has covered basketball for Vantage Sports and Hoops Rumors and served as co-host of “On the NBA Beat” podcast. Joshua received his master’s in Sports Media from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @JJTheJuggernaut.

Sweden veteran defender Magda Eriksson is hanging up her international boots to focus on her health, with the 32-year-old officially announcing her retirement from her national team on Sunday.

Eriksson will continue competing at the domestic level for her German club, Bayern Munich.

The longtime captain sat out the most recent international window due to a head injury, watching as world No. 3 Sweden fell to No. 1 Spain in the two-leg 2025 Nations League semifinals.

"It's by far the toughest decision I've ever made," Eriksson said in her social media announcement. "But I'm listening to my body and mind instead of my heart."

"I've landed in the fact that unfortunately it's a decision that has to be made."

After an 11-year career with the Swedish senior national team, Eriksson retires as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, earning those podium finishes in Rio in 2016 and at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games.

Often leading Sweden through major tournaments where early domination dissolved into a third-place finish, Eriksson also helped her team eke onto the World Cup podium in both 2019 and 2023.

"It is heavy news," said Sweden head coach Tony Gustavsson after Eriksson announced her international retirement, calling her "one of our most important players for a long time."

"[Magda's] professionalism, courage, and heart have left a strong mark on the national team," he added.

Chelsea FC's £1 million gamble is paying dividends, as USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson continued her goal-scoring momentum for the six-time defending WSL champs on Sunday.

The young forward found the back of the net in the ninth minute of the Blues' 1-1 Sunday draw with Liverpool, solidifying her status as a decisive attacking threat for her new club.

"You can see how much talent she has and the quality she brings to the team," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Thompson earlier this month. "She's improving game after game, becoming more connected to her teammates, and understanding the way we want to play better."

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Thompson left NWSL side Angel City for Chelsea on a then-record £1 million transfer fee in early September, with the 21-year-old going on to notch three goals and one assist in four matches across both WSL and Champions League play.

"Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity," said the striker. "I want to learn, grow, and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."

Beyond individual accomplishment, Thompson's success underscores Chelsea's depth as they continue to hunt domestic and continental honors on a now-34 match WSL unbeaten streak — while also looking to potentially draw more USWNT stars away from the NWSL.

Women's professional baseball has landed a home base, with Front Office Sports reporting on Monday that the newly formed WPBL will play the entirety of its 2026 debut season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The incoming league prioritized a neutral venue without an existing baseball team to house its four inaugural clubs — New York, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — for its first campaign, with barnstorming games also planned for each team market.

"Our sport is for everybody," WPBL co-founder Keith Stein told FOS. "It's for middle America, everybody. We thought, 'Our teams are on these two coasts, it would be good to be in the middle of the country.'"

Founded in 2024 as the first professional women's baseball outfit in the US since 1954, the WPBL will hold its first-ever draft on Thursday, with the league's four teams drawing from a pool of 120 eligible players.

The WPBL recently fielded an oversubscribed Series A investment round, telling FOS that they're closing a $3 million raise with another round planned ahead of its August 2026 season-opener.

Each 30-player team will operate under a $95,000 salary cap for the first year, with the league also covering living costs throughout the seven-week season as well as giving players a percentage of sponsorship funds.

How to watch the first-ever WPBL Draft

The 2025 WPBL Draft kicks off at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage streaming across the league's Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels.

Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon spoke her mind last week, telling CNBC Sport that the WNBA might need "a change in leadership" for the league's CBA talks to successfully progress.

"I just think [player relations] might be too fractured at this point, but we'll see," Hammon said, while also noting that she's had only limited interactions with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

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Citing Engelbert's "private conversations...with individual players — or lack of the conversations," Hammon described the commissioner's current relationship with players as "rocky" while describing her widely criticized leadership style.

"I don't know if she can ever regret, retract, and get that traction back from those conversations," the Aces boss posited.

"When the players speak, people need to sit up and listen," she continued. "I think [Engelbert is] sitting up and listening now."

Hammon also voiced support for Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier after the five-time All-Star described the WNBA as having the "worst leadership in the world" in her now-viral 2025 exit interview.

"I completely agree with Napheesa that the players should be making more than coaches," the Las Vegas sideline leader — who publicly earns seven figures per year — continued. "They're due for a huge increase in salary, and it's got to be something that is sustainable. That's the biggest thing you got to remember, that this league is still a young league."

Ultimately, while the 2025 WNBA season is over, CBA concerns loom large over the league's current offseason and 2026 campaign, leaving Hammon and others looking to avoid a lockout as the November 30th extension deadline nears.